Device for raising and lowering automobile-tops.



' Patented Sept. 16,1913.

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inrasaa To all whom it may concern: Y

it .lmown tha 1, Girls Goonr tiz 0f the'United States, residing at Talladega,

in t e coun y o yia 'adega and sneer Alabama, haveinvented; certain useful Improvements in Dev ces for Ra s ng e g entomehiler l on a hieh the following is a spe ifieatlon- This invention has as its object to provide a dev ce designed tobe employed fo t purpose of: assisting one-1n setting up th tops of automobiles. As is well-kn wn, the

rear bowsof an automobile'tcp are 13QIl12t1 neatly pivoted to brackets oc te t op- F positesides of the body of the machine at t e rear thereof, and thatwhenthe top is not muse, the pivot e ds of he forw rd bows are detachably engaged in ears, car: ried by these brackets and by thel wer ends of the respective bo s and, when th .top

is to be set up, must be disengaged tram the e rs n lcat ied for ard y and engaged in two brackets which are located at oppo= site sides of the automobile body near t e front thereQ- It is obvious therefore, that at the present time it is necessary to man:

ually support the forward bows and the forward portion of the automobile top as the top is being set up or laid down, and without assistance this cannot be readily a0- complishd.

The present invention, theretore, aims to provide a device which may be readily and qui kl a p i to th bra kets at the ar and forward bows and which will slidably support the lower or pivot ends of the forward bows as these bows are moved forwardly or rearwardly, depending upon whether the top is being set up or let down.

It is one aim of the invention to so construct the supporting device, above men tioned that it may be conveniently carried,

readily applied and dismounted and that it will be capable of adjustment for application to various types of automobiles. in which the front and rear brackets are 10- catedat different distances apart.

In the accompanying drawings :Figure l is a perspective View illustrating the invention applied to an automobile showing the forward bows partly slid in a forward direction. Fig. 2 is a top plan view in detail of one of the supporting devices. Fig.

3 is a perspective view thereof detached. Fig. 4 is a view illustrating a slight modification otthe invention.

Specification of Letters Eatent.

Patented Sept. 16,1913.

i mara as an a e 2- erial 1n ne nfle re p ndins an ike pa s. are ret ed t in the f ll w ns d r p ien and indicat d a l he views o t a eemnaayme drawi g by h am r ne char c er In the dr w ng th hedy f the en e mob l is indic t in gene a by he ef rence character A, and the numeral 1 desig: n ts o of a pai o b c e wh ch ar m un e upon t e ppos de at the astly, at he re r h e f an wh SUP- ro t he ea bows, hese ho s b n indic ted at 9 an b g p vot lv moun e a I'their lower ends as at3 upon the said brackets 1. Each of the brackets l the bows 2 at their lower pivoted ends isprovitled with an apertured car i, as is usual, into which may be fitted the lower or pivot end of the respective forward bow, indir ca -ed at n dit on to th ck ts l the body is provided at its opposite sides and near its front with two brackets 6 with wh h he ower de of the b ne 5 a t be connected in the usual manner.

The present invention, as above stated, contemplates the provision or": a pair of sup; po ng d v c whic -are es gned t be applied to e bra ke s 1 and at h sid of he au om bile body d t ese supporting devices are of counterpart construction and consequently'a description of one'will snfii e or ot Ea o h supporting de ic s s ave mentioned is preferably formed from a m al i red at ui a l le gth and ndicated drawing by the numeral 7 This rod may be circular in cross section or of any other cross sectional contour and may of course, be of iron, brass, or any other material. At one end the rod is bent laterally, substantially at right angles, as at 8 and thence as at 9, parallel to its main portion so as to form a hook, and this hook is of a size to be engaged with either of the brackets 1. At its other end the rod 7 is provided with a head 10 which serves a purpose to be presently pointed out. A sleeve 11 is slidably adjustable uponthe rod 7 and is designed to be held at adjustment by means of a set screw 12 threaded therethrough and bearing against the said rod. This sleeve 11 is provided at that side which is presented in the same direction as the hook above described, with a finger 13 which projects laterally from the said side of the sleeve and thence directly toward the bill 9 of the said hook, the body portion of this finger extending parallel to the main portion of the rod 7. In arranging each supporting device upon the automobile body, the hook above described is first engaged with one of the brackets l and the set screw 12 is then loosened and while the handle 10 is grasped in one hand and this end of the rod is supported the sleeve 11 is slid rearwardly upon the rod until its finger 13'engages with the corresponding forward bracket 6. The setsorew 12 is then tightened to hold the sleeve at adjustment. Freely slidable upon the rod 7 is a sleeve 14 having an eye 15 projecting from its upper side. After the rod has been arranged for support by the brackets 1 and 6, as above described, this sleeve 14 is slid rearwardly upon the rod, assuming that it is desired to set up the top, and the lower ends'of the forward bows 5 are then dis engaged from the ears 4 and are engaged in the respective eyes 15 of the respective sleeves 14;. The said forward bows are then grasped and moved forwardly in a corresponding direction until these sleeves abut against the respective brackets 6, whereupon the lower ends of the bows are disengaged from the eyes 15 and are engaged in the eyes of the said brackets 6. The straps S, usually connected at the forward corners of the cover may then be grasped and pulled downwardly and forwardly so as to properly stretch the cover or top. Of course, when it is desired to let down the top, the above described operation is reversed.

From the foregoing description of the invention it will be seen that there is provided an extremely simple and inexpensive device which may be conveniently and successfully employed in assisting to set up an automobile top, and it will also be apparent that due to the fact that the sleeve is adjustable parent that the head 10 in addition to serving as a hand-grip whereby the forward end of the rod may be supported while the sleeve 11 and its finger 13 are being. adjustedy serves as a means for preventing loss of. the sleeve 11.

In the form of the invention'shown Fig. 4'of the drawing, the rod isformed of telescopic sections 7 and 7 and it will be,-

understood that by forming the rod inthis manner, it may be collapsed to occupy but little space when not in use.

Having thus described the invention what is claimed as new 'is In a device of the class descr1bed,a sup porting rod havlng one end bent backupon itself to form a hook engageable'with .oneof the brackets for the bows of a vehicle top, asleeve slidable longitudinally upon the rod and provided at one side with a finger pro jecting at right angles therefrom and thence at right angles toward the first mentioned 1 end of the rod, a set-screw threaded through l the other side ofEthe sleeve and arranged to bear against the rod whereby to hold the sleeve at adjustment thereon, the said fin ger being adapted to be engaged with .an-

other one of the brackets for the said bows.

a handle fixed at the other-end of the rod, and a sleeve freely slidable upon therod be tween the first mentioned end thereof and the first mentioned sleeve and provided with an eye. v

OTIS COOK.

lVitnesses W. H. BOYNTON,

J.T. REYNOLDS. V

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents.

Washington, D. 0. 

